By Dan Bell
The NZD/USD opens at 0.8190 this morning - after hitting a high of 0.8246 overnight.
The US Dollar is firmer against most major currencies, hitting an 11 month high against the Japanese Yen and a 1 Month high against the Euro.
US Retail Sales increased 1.1% in Feb - the largest gain in 5 months adding to the recent run of stronger US economic news.
US stocks have rallied over 1% overnight to new multiyear highs with the S&P 500 Index and the NASDAQ at their highest levels since 2000
The US Federal Reserve announced monetary policy this morning and left interest rates on hold at 0 - 0.25%. They maintained their commitment to keep rates low until the end of 2014, but no mention of further Quantitative Easing.
The improvement in the US economy is undermining ideas of QE3 and adding support to the US Dollar - which may keep the NZD/USD contained within recent ranges despite a ‘risk on’ environment - with stocks and commodities continuing to rally.
The AUD/USD opens at 1.05 this morning. NZD/AUD continues to improve after hitting lows around 0.7650 less than a fortnight ago- we are currently trading around 0.78.
The NZD is firmer against the major cross rates at 0.6260 EUR, 0.5220 GBP and 68.00 JPY.
Not much to report on the local front. From Australia Consumer Sentiment at 12:30pm.
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Dan Bell is the senior currency strategist at HiFX in Auckland. You can contact him here
(Updated with Dow close)
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